Behind the Scenes
by Miss Starfire
Summary: A compilation of random short stories from special Ranma/Akane moments in the anime we all wish had turned out quite differently. There is enough sugar here to give you diabetes! No drama, I swear :)
1. A Sudden Storm of Love

**HEY ALL!**

Yeah, I know what you're thinking: "What the hell is she doing writing more effing drama? Why isn't she, well, **fixing**_ Fix You _so it gets better soon?"

Well, after looking at the outline and realizing that Fix You will be really hard to read, and feeling ABSOLUTELY bad about it and how it's making some of you wonder if I was born without a heart (that's a story for a different day), I've decided to provide a little fluff on the side. This, dear readers, is exactly what the summary says: a bunch of short stories regarding our favorite Ranma and Akane moments in the anime that we'd like they had taken a more romantic turn.

I promise there is no drama here; just humor, romance, and fluff. I hope it helps deal with the chaos that Fix You is, and allows you to be able to read the rest of the story knowing there is a nice side of me that wants Ranma and Akane to be happy together.

In the words of Will Smith in _I Am Legend_: "Light up the darkness…"

And this is the temporary light I can give to you before it hits the pitch black darkness of Fix you.

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**Situation: Ranma thinks about how Akane defended him against Kuno while he was trying to change back into a guy while hanging from a tree.**

**Chapter 1: A Sudden Storm of Love**

Ranma Saotome had to deal with a whole new load of adventures since his arrival to Nerima, Japan just over a week ago. His previous idea that swimming his way to China from Japan, falling into cursed springs, being chased by crazy Amazons, and then having to swim back to Japan from China had been tough, had been quickly and completely overcome with what he had to endure here in his new home.

Deep inside him, he hoped this place would be his new permanent home. So far, his father seemed as if he were really comfortable living here, having the opportunity to hang around with his best friend on a daily basis. He figured this was a pretty powerful incentive for his father to stay in place, once and for all. Truth be told, Ranma had been acquiring a pretty powerful incentive to stay himself, and it presented itself in the form of a rather cute blue-haired girl that he had no trouble hanging around with.

In fact, thinking about this fact reminded him of the conversation he had with his old man just a few minutes ago regarding Akane's efforts in protecting him from the crazy idiot by the name of Tatewaki Kuno. He had yet to have the opportunity to use his true skills against anyone or anything here, so of course she had no idea how strong he really was. Her first instinct had been to help him, thinking his girl form was not as resilient as his man side.

After thinking it over, he decided he did owe Akane a thank you after attempting to save his ass. He got up from the floor of his room and walked straight to Akane's room, which was not far from his. He lifted his hand to knock on her door but a heated conversation taking place inside between Akane and Nabiki made him stop in his tracks.

"_What's the big deal Akane? I think's it's cool that he can turn into a girl,"_ Nabiki said behind the closed door. He heard Akane growl and something snapped, as if she had hit her desk with a little too much strength before she retorted back to her sister.

"_Cool? That's easy for you to say, Nabiki. Think about it! I'm engaged to my worst nightmare: a guy who looks prettier than me when he's a girl!"_

Ranma heard the commotion inside the room as Nabiki began walking towards the door, but he was glued into place by Akane's words. _"Does she really think that?"_

Ranma's thoughts were interrupted when the door in front of him opened and revealed two surprised teenaged girls staring at him. Nabiki was the first one to recover from the shock of seeing the boy they had just been talking about stand in front of them. She cleared her throat and began walking out the door by going around the still stumped Ranma. She looked back at Akane and waved at her as she left.

"Good look with your handful, Akane, dear."

The couple stared at each other, both trying to come up with a word, any word to utter first. Ranma took a small step into the room, as if measuring how mad she really was before he ventured any further into her space. When she looked away from him and took a step back herself, he knew there was no immediate danger.

"So," she finally said, "What are the odds you didn't hear all of that?"

"Pretty low."

"Ranma, look...I didn't mean…"

"Save it, Akane," he began, making her flinch at being caught talking bad about their guest behind his back. He, however, had other plans as he continued his response. "I know what you meant…I mean, I've said that too, right?"

Akane looked up at him, trying as hard as she could to read his eyes. When Ranma offered her a small smile, she could not help but return it. He took another step back towards her, unconsciously closing the door behind him. "Anyway, I…I came here to say thank you, for –for helping me with that idiot Kuno."

"Oh, I…it was nothing," she said, blushing slightly as she did. Ranma blushed a little himself, scratching his cheek in nervousness.

"Yeah, well, I still wanted to thank you."

"Come on, Ranma. It's not a big deal. Anyone would have done the same for you."

Ranma scoffed, knowing that his old man would have not done so, and would have probably let him get beat and then mocked him for it, too. Knowing he had accomplished what he had come here for, he nodded to her and walked back to the door. He opened the door and took a step back, stopping for a moment to tell her what was really on his mind.

"Maybe, but I don't have anyone but you, right now. So…thanks."

He heard Akane's gasp as he closed the door behind him, resting his back against it, feeling his legs shake underneath him. He smiled to himself, remembering his initial thoughts before he had walked toward her room.

_"Yup, good reason to stick around."_

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**A/N:** YAY! So, who likes it? There is more to come. I have been watching the episodes since this morning and making notes of which episodes I can use for this story. The names of the chapters match the name of the anime episodes, but the different chapters themselves are not necessarily connected to each other. I am following the order the episodes were created, not aired. As it turns out, the order of the episodes when aired in the U.S. is, for the most part, completely messed up. I'm trying to follow the order that match the story so that the progression of the fluff makes sense.

As always, subscribe if you like, review if you loved!


	2. Akane's Lost Love…These Things Happen

Situation: Ranma chases Akane down to the canal after they have witnessed Tofu's attitude when Kasumi is around.

**Chapter 2: Akane's Lost Love…These Things Happen, You Know?**

Ranma had instinctively run after Akane as she left Doctor Tofu's office in a hurry, visibly upset at seeing how much influence her older sister had over the man she had secretly loved since she understood what love was. No one else knew what was going through her mind, not even her best friends, as she had kept her feelings to herself. Ranma felt as if he was the only one that could help her now. He called out after her as she ran away from the scene, but Akane being who she was, she did not listen. With his still severely crooked neck, it was somewhat difficult to make his way through the streets, making him fear he would not be able to catch up to her, but the sound of a loud splash beneath him caught his attention.

_ "There she is!"_

He jumped down to the canal they crossed every day on their way to school. He stared at her back as he slowly approached her, ready to react if she tried to escape again. _"What, is she crying?"_

Akane was lost in her thoughts, allowing for Ranma to walk in front of her and bend down showing him his most comical face in order to make her laugh. Akane snapped back to reality and reacted to his attempt at cheering her up by slapping his face to the ground.

"What are you doing here, Ranma?"

Ranma, expecting such a response from her, was not at all deterred by her actions and just smiled. "Now that's more like the Akane I know."

Akane rolled her eyes, tilting her head as he stood up from his position on the ground. "Just _what_ do you mean by that? Surely you don't expect me to believe that you're here to cheer me up?"

A now fully upright Ranma stood in front of her, watching as she crossed her arms showing her reluctance to believe anything that came out of his mouth. "What's the big deal? Why shouldn't you believe it? Oh! Hey, I'm cured!" he said as he moved his neck from side to side, happy that the pain was gone.

Akane chuckled and retorted in a sarcastic tone. "How nice for you."

"There now, I'm glad to see you're back to your normal self again!"

"What did you say?" Akane said with a little bit more anger than she would have liked, lifting her fist, ready to punch him if she needed to.

"Now that's the ticket!"

Feeling that she was accomplishing nothing by arguing with him, she turned around and grabbed her bag, taking long strides to walk away from him as fast as possible without running. Before she was able to jump back to the street, he grabbed her hand to stop her. Akane turned around as she attempted to pull her hand from his grasp.

"Aren't you done yet?" she spat, irritably.

Ranma loosened his grip on her, but she did not pull back her hand. Ranma twisted around her hand so that their palms touched each other as he stroked her knuckles with his thumb.

"Look, Akane, I know I keep bugging you with it, but you don't have to give up on finding a husband. Don't let what you feel for Doctor Tofu make you feel bad. OK?"

Akane swallowed hard, feeling his touch send shivers down her spine. Only the touch of one other man had made her feel this way before, and for the life of her she did not want Ranma to be the next one.

"What do you know, you pervert?" she said, trying her best to mask her growing anxiety with anger.

"Hey, I'm trying to cheer you up. Why don't you meet me half way, uh?" he said as he pulled her closer to him, emphasizing his_ halfway_ statement.

Akane finally pulled her hand back from his, immediately missing his gentle touch as she looked down at her shoes. "I'm sorry. I guess you're right. I just…it's hard to see how in love he is with her, you know?"

"I can imagine," Ranma begun, internally congratulating himself for being able to make Akane open up about her feelings. "But don't pout about it. You'll find another guy in no time! Especially since you're so easy!"

Akane's head snapped up, facing him with a frown on her face.

"Excuse me? Did you just call me _easy_?"

"Yeah, why?" he began; unsure as to why Akane was taking his compliment as an insult. He replayed his comment in his mind and the widening of his eyes reflected his understanding of the insult. "Oh, wait! That's not what I meant."

"Oh really? Is this how you cheer people up, 'cause you suck at it!" She said, raising the tone of her voice.

"No, Akane, wait. I didn't mean to call you a slut!" he said, shaking his palms in front of himself for emphasis.

"A slut? Who are you calling a slut?"

"You! I mean, NOT you! I meant…ugh! I'm not good with words, OK? I meant that you're easy_going_…when you want to be. You're one of the guys…but as a girl…guys like that…in a girl."

Akane, who had been raising her hand to strike him again, blinked as she interpreted what he had meant. She lowered her arm and looked away as she thought about it. "I guess being one of the boys is better than being one of the whores."

"Of course it is!"

Akane gave him a look of disbelief, shaking her head and chuckling at the same time at the ludicrousness of the situation.

"There you go! That's more like it!"

"You're weird, you know that?" she said as she playfully poked his chest.

"Hey! No need to insult the effort! I thought you said you wanted us to be friends, right? So, well, what are friends for? Unless, of course, you didn't mean it."

"I did, even when I found out you were really a boy."

"Not all of us are bad, 'kane," he said as he placed his hands on his hips.

"No, I guess not."

Akane stared toward the direction of the clinic, recapping the scene she had to endure. She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying her best to remove the memory from her mind. "Hey, do you have some money with you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I don't wanna go home just yet. Can you lend me some so we can go eat somewhere? I think between the both of us it will be enough for some burgers. What do ya say?"

Ranma thought about her proposition for a second before his stomach answered for him, making Akane chuckle.

"Alright," he finally said, grabbing her hand and pulling her with him. "It's been a while since I've had one, anyway."

Akane allowed herself to be guided by him, wondering when exactly she had allowed the pigtailed boy to hold in his hand much more than just her own.

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**A/N:** There isn't enough thanks in the world for your comments and words of encouragement. And your ideas were definitely welcome and will be considered. The next chapter is from the episode _True Confessions! A Girl's Hair is Her Life!_ Can you guess what it is?


	3. True Confessions! A Girl's Hair is Her

**Situation:** Ranma is running on the fence looking for Akane after her hair has been cut by Ryouga –and fixed by Kasumi. He sees someone who looks like Akane walking down the street, so he picks up his pace.

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**Chapter 3: True Confessions! A Girl's Hair is Her Life!**

"Akane!"

Ranma yelled from his spot on the fence before easily jumping in front of the girl dressed in Furinkan's uniform. He took a quick glimpse at her before taking a step back and turning around. "Oh, I thought you were someone else," the pigtailed boy said apologetically.

"Who were you looking for?" A familiar voice coming from the seemingly stranger girl made him stop in his tracks. "Uh?"

"What are you looking at?" Akane asked as she self-consciously took her hand to her now evenly cut hair.

Ranma took another step towards the girl, in awe that he had failed to recognize her at first.

"Is it…you?"

Akane looked down at the ground, not being able to face him as she felt embarrassed of her new look.

"It's different, isn't it?"

"Akane…" Ranma immediately took a step back and bowed down to her, begging for forgiveness. "I'm sorry."

"Gee! Aren't you being nice for a change?" Akane asked with a tone of reproach she did not expect from herself.

Ranma, however, was not insulted by her mocking tone, and instead felt even guiltier for causing such an inconvenience for her. "Well, yeah…"

Akane dismissed his attempts at apologizing by waving her hand at him as she walked around him with struggling steps heading to Doctor Tofu's clinic to have her ankle checked.

"It's OK; you're off the hook. I was gonna cut it, anyway."

Ranma's guilt tripled the moment she off-handedly accepted his apology. He had expected her to go off at him, calling him names and using her mallet against him, but her dismissive attitude was worse than being beaten to a pulp. He watched as she took short steps, causing him to sprint into action by running after her.

"Hey, uh, how's your ankle? You want a piggyback ride?"

"Stop being so nice, Ranma! You're scaring me!"

Ranma flinched at her words. He knew that they did not have the easiest friendship in the world, but he had truly believed that their arguments and constant teasing were just part of how things worked between them. Seeing her reactions to the demonstration of his kind side made him wonder if Akane actually took their fighting more seriously than he did. He noticed the moment she attempted to walk faster to leave him behind when it caused a look of pain to cross her face.

"Whoa, there, Akane. You'll make it worse. Slow down."

"What do you care? You've been forgiven, so why don't you go do whatever it is that you were doing before you came looking for me and leave me alone?"

Ranma could not help but shaking his head at her words. He ran faster than her –which at the moment was not very difficult to do, and stood in front of her, moving with her side-to-side as he forced her to stop where she stood.

"Let me help you, please. It's the least I can do."

"I don't need your pity, Ranma."

"_Pity_? What the…? You think I'm being nice to you out of _pity_?"

"Pity, guilt, whatever."

Ranma crossed his arms in front of his chest, no longer trying to hide the hurtful look on his face. "I think you know me better than that by now, Akane."

Akane suddenly felt uncomfortable with the situation. Yes, she was upset that the hair that had taken her so long to grow was wasted in half a second in a battle that was not even hers, but giving Ranma the cold shoulder was not going to make it come back again.

"For whatever reason you're doing this, Ranma, don't feel as if you have to make it better for me. I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself."

"I never doubted you can, Akane, but I'd feel so much better if I could do something for you."

"How about leaving me alone so I can go get my ankle checked out?"

Ranma sighed at her stubbornness. He looked down at her feet and could tell from this distance that her ankle was already swelling up. He got down on one knee, which shocked Akane for a moment too long, before he cautiously grabbed her injured foot and carefully took off her shoe to examine the damage more carefully. Akane held her breath, swallowing hard as his rough hands treated her foot with such care, she would have sworn he had done this many times in the past. Satisfied that nothing was broken but that a sprain was surely present, he slipped the shoe back onto her foot, making Akane feel as if she had suddenly become the protagonist of a cheesy fairy tale.

"I've got some home remedies that can make it better in no time, but I can still take you to Doctor Tofu if you insist on going."

Still too stunned for words at his display of concern, Akane could only nod, inviting Ranma to turn around and position himself so that she crept up onto his back. Once he felt she was secure, he began walking towards their destination with a small smile on his face. His stomach churned as he felt her hold on tighter to his shoulders and rested the side of her face on his back.

"Akane?"

"Uhm?"

"That haircut looks…really good on you."

"Oh…thanks."

After a few minutes of walking, Ranma carefully dropped Akane on the examining table at the clinic, immediately pulling back and standing close by as Doctor Tofu worked his magic.

"Well, there is definitely a sprain here, but nothing serious. I can give you some herbs for the swelling, and a balm for the pain. You shouldn't put your weight on it for at least two days, though, so no sparring this weekend, OK?"

Akane only nodded, biting her lip as she tried not to cry. The weight of her feelings with the entire situation pounded wildly in her chest, asking to be released. She closed her eyes and felt Tofu's warm hands leave her foot as he headed to his medicine cabinet to grab the necessary items for Akane. Ranma followed the doctor and made a mental note of the good man's recommendations for doses and possible massages he could give her to speed up her recovery.

"Is she gonna be alright?"

"Physically, yes. Mentally…she may need more than just some herbs and balm."

Ranma nodded, understanding the responsibility the doctor was passing on to him. He grabbed the items and buried them inside his pockets before bowing down and thanking the doctor. Suddenly the entrance door's dream catcher announced the arrival of another patient. Both men looked at the old lady walking in holding her back, prompting Tofu to immediately focus on his new patient.

Ranma walked back to where Akane lay, only to find her sobbing behind her hands which rested upon her face. Ranma was next to her in an instant, looking around to find what had caused her to cry.

"Akane, does it hurt? Tell me where it hurts."

He took out the medicine he had just been given, ready to jump into action, but Akane shook her head, wiping her tears with the back of her hands. "It's not that…I just…I don't know why I'm crying…actually," she managed to say before another wave of tears hit her full force. Ranma put away the medicine and did the only thing he could think of at the moment: he pulled her to his chest and held her in his arms. Unexpectedly for him, she returned the embrace, scrunching up the fabric of his shirt as the waves of sadness punished her mercilessly. Ranma rubbed her back in a circular motion, waiting for the moment when she was ready to return home.

After a few minutes passed, Akane finally pulled herself back. Her lips and eyes were swollen and red from the effort, but she seemed to finally be calming down. Ranma reached into his back pocket and took out a handkerchief, which he used to slowly clean up her face. Akane allowed him free roam to use one hand to hold her face by her chin, moving it from side to side, and using his other hand to maneuver the handkerchief on her face.

"Do you want to go home?" he finally asked after he felt his task of cleaning up her face was completed.

She nodded to him and Ranma took this as a cue to again turn around and help her crawl on his back. The return home was silent save a few left over sniffs coming from Akane. Once they made the turn to reach the Tendo's residence, Ranma hesitated to walk in through the front door. He imagined Akane did not want to deal with questions at the moment, and a crying Soun would only make matters worse for her. He looked back at her to make sure she was listening to him as he tightened his grip on her.

"Hang on, Akane."

With a swift move, he jumped high up in the air with her in tow, and after three strategic moves, he was opening the window to her room, carefully guiding her inside and jumping in after her. She sat on the edge of her bed, leaning over to grab a tissue and blowing her nose.

Ranma dug into his pockets and took out the two bottles of medicine she would need for the next few days, and left them on her desk before staring at a still distant-looking Akane. "If you need anything, Akane, just holler, OK?"

Akane looked up at him with a tint of red on her cheeks when he got near the window to leave her alone as she had been asking from him since he found her walking down the street.

"Ranma?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you…stay?"

Her request had surely shocked him and scared him a little bit as well, but he nodded to her. He grabbed the balm the doctor had recommended for the pain and unscrewed the bottle. Akane suddenly felt exhausted and wanted nothing more than to rest her head on the pillow and forget this eventful day. Ranma noticed her seemingly closing eyes, so he took off her shoes and helped her get under the covers. Once she was lying on her bed, he sat at the foot of the bed, taking out her injured foot from under the blanket. Akane opened a single eye to watch his actions before she realized what he had in mind.

He covered his fingers in the medicinal balm as he began carefully, and skillfully, rubbing it all over her ankle with a relaxing massage.

"Ranma?"

"It's OK, Akane. Just take a nap and you'll feel much better when you wake up, I promise."

Akane nodded, fighting the urge to fall asleep just yet without making him aware of her gratitude. "Alright. _Thank you_, Ranma."

Ranma smiled at her as her eyes finally closed, her body becoming limp when fatigue took over it. Ranma did not leave her room that night until he was certain Akane's foot would not cause her trouble in the few days to come.

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**A/N:** I GOTTA GO SEE MY DENTIST AFTER WRITING THIS! CAVITIES! CAVITIES! CAVITIES! Don't forget to leave your feedback for my heart of stone. The title of the next chapter **is Close Call! The Dance of Death…on Ice!** Which I think is a moment many of you have been waiting for ^_^


	4. Close Call! The Dance of Death…on Ice!

**Situation: **Ranma is at the dojo because everyone is making fun of him about the kiss with Mikado on the ice rink. Akane walks in behind him and hits him on the back of the head.

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**Chapter 4: Close Call! The Dance of Death…on Ice!**

"You're wide open, you know! Pay attention!" she yelled at him immediately after her open palm had found the back of his head. Akane's remark only served to enrage the pigtailed martial artist even more than he already was. He was beginning to frankly wonder how well everyone who made fun of him for being kissed by another guy would have reacted to prevent such a situation from occurring to them. At this point, he was certain that _neither _of them would have been able to fare any better than him.

"Huh!" Ranma's intelligent response to her teasing made Akane sigh.

"Oh, honestly! Aren't you finished pouting? And here you call yourself a guy!"

Akane walked around the pouting boy to crouch next to him as he fidgeted on his spot on the floor of the dojo. From all the people that could have come to confront him in his misery, Akane was the last one on his list. Akane rolled her eyes at his eluding attitude, waiting for him to finally speak coherent words.

"Ah! Go ahead and laugh at me if you want."

Akane lost no time in complying with his request, and let go of a long, teasing laugh.

"Hey! What are you laughing at?!"

Akane's laughter ended with his retort. She sealed her lips and held back her laughter before speaking again. "Oh, nothing," she poorly assured him as her eyes shifted towards the interesting ceiling. Ranma eyed her from corner of his eyes, both enjoying and despising her mocking presence in front of him.

"Well, for one thing…" the martial artist began voicing his inner thoughts but was quickly interrupted by his fiancée unceremoniously placing a bandage on the bridge of his nose.

"Well, for one thing, it's your own fault that he kissed you. You gotta realize you left yourself wide open, Ranma," she pointed out as she changed her position to mirror Ranma's kneeling position on the floor. Ranma raised one eyebrow at her overconfident statement before furrowing his brows when he finally responded to her.

"And I suppose you think _you_ coulda done better, uh?"

Akane scoffed, closing her eyes and moving her head to the side to emphasize her point.

"Of course I coulda."

Before Akane could continue her showcase of arrogance, Ranma placed the extended fingers of his left hand on the center of her chest at the same time he used his right hand to literally sweep her off her feet. Akane's reaction was to yelp as she ended up perfectly positioned on his welcoming lap. Her eyes widened at his face's proximity to hers, and could not believe he could get any closer when he actually leaned down to her to make his point known.

"Well, look who's talking."

Akane swallowed the lump in her throat, attempting to speak only after she was certain it was gone. Yet, any words that she could have uttered were lost once their eyes met. Ranma's look of determination did not falter until it finally dawned on him what he had done. With a yelp and quick slide away from her, he lifted his arms in front of his chest, already begging for forgiveness from the volatile girl.

"Oh! Hey! Look, relax Akane! I mean, it's wasn't like I was trying to kiss you or anything! I mean…I…"

Akane's daze remained on her person for only a few more seconds before she blinked the confusion away. She had to say something, _anything_, to prevent this situation from escalating into an ego-feeding fest for the pigtailed boy.

"Oh, I wasn't worried. I know you don't have the guts to do something like that, anyway."

The not-so-subtle challenge she issued to him did not go unnoticed, immediately causing a reaction from him.

"Oh, yeah! Well, you keep talking like that and maybe I just might!"

Akane's heartbeat increased tenfold. Had he truly agreed to her challenge? Was he daring her to back down? Ignoring the butterflies in her stomach, she took a deep breath and continued her teasing. Knowing one of them would have to eventually back down she continued her verbal assault on the boy's pride. She was not sure who would give up first, but she was going to try her best to not be the one.

"Oh, yeah! You just go ahead and try it, Ranma!"

"You sure?"

"Well, sure, I dare you to do it, if you think you can!"

Ranma was taken aback before shaking his head to clear his mind. He then crawled to where she sat and sat down in front of her. "I'll do it, but only 'cuz you told me to."

Akane smirked, placing her hands in between her legs to keep him from seeing how much they were shaking from excitement. Outside, her face sported the highest expression of cockiness she could conjure, but inside, the butterflies were making themselves a nice, big home.

Ranma leaned closer to her face but stopped, demanding that his kissing partner was kind enough to at least close her eyes. Akane complied with his demand, making him even more nervous than he already was, silently praying she would be the one to falter first. Seeing her decision had not changed, he leaned forward even closer, stopping when he was mere inches from her face. The implication of his actions finally faced him, forcing him to pull back from her inviting lips and clearing his throat to grab her attention.

"Uhm, shouldn't you, kinda like, save this stuff for, you know, like the people that you really like, and stuff like that…you know?"

Akane's mouth dropped in shock, feeling as insulted and hurt as she has ever been. Her ears could not process the audacity of his comment. Weren't guys supposed to _beg _for this kind of interaction from girls? Why was it any different with her? Was she not worthy of his damn kiss?

"I see. I'm not good enough for you, is that it?" she finally said as she looked away from him, trying to keep the stubborn tears at bay. She crossed her arms, trying her best to look insulted rather than utterly hurt as to not to inflate the boy's ego.

Ranma clenched his fists in anger at the nerve of the girl in front of him. How could she even fathom that he thought so little of her? How could this girl, who had aided him countless times and represented the single example of a friend for him, believe that she was nothing but perfect for him?

"AKANE, THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"

Akane's resolve immediately revived a little at his words, allowing her to again face the now rather nervous boy in front of her. The almightiness that had just moments ago enveloped his manly side was quickly slipping away, leaving behind an insecure and rather embarrassed teenaged boy.

"I…I…I just meant that, that if you don't mind, I…I don't mind…you know what I mean?"

Akane's eyes widened at his revelation, again leaving her speechless and frozen in her spot. Ranma's eyes, while shy and slightly evasive, tried their best to maintain eye-contact with the shell-shocked girl. Akane's mind flooded with images of the many gestures this young man had had towards her in her times of need, making her wonder if his actions had been more than just the ones provided by a good friend.

"_Friend? Is he really just a…__**friend**__?"_

Ranma's patience was running thin, feeling as nothing more than a filthy lab rat being scrutinized under the most judging of eyes. How could he have possibly thought that someone like Akane would accept being kissed by someone like him? Akane Tendo, the girl that every student alive in Furinkan High was dying to date, could most certainly not allow a total nobody like him to take something so precious from her. He slapped himself mentally at the stupidity of his actions as he readied to call off the entire ordeal.

"Ranma?"

Her voice had been nothing more than just a whisper, but with the quietness around them and their own mutual silence, her words echoed loudly in his head.

"Yeah?" he asked, not daring to look up at her.

"I…I wouldn't mind…either."

It was his turn to be shell-shocked and he did not waste the opportunity. He slowly lifted his eyes to stare at hers, finding nothing but eagerness in them. Waiting no more, she closed her eyes again –this time without waiting for his request, inviting him to finish what he had started.

Ranma's small smile was missed by her closed eyes. He leaned forward towards her face, this time with the necessity to kiss her and not allow anything to stop him in his tracks. Akane felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand when he used his hand to position her face so that she leaned slightly to her right. Akane allowed the boy to guide her, feeling her heart swelling inside her chest when his lips finally touched hers. He gave her a small, chaste kiss before he pulled back no more than inch from her. He partially opened his eyes to stare at her slightly parted lips, screaming to be kissed once more. He slowly bent down and kissed her again, this time longer than the first time, encouraged by the movement of her lips on his.

Guided only by the overwhelming amount of sensations, both teenagers lifted their bodies so that they kneeled in front of each other, pressing their upper bodies even closer together. Akane's hands instinctively traveled to rest on his waist, while his free hand ended on her hip. After parting their lips again –but not their bodies, they both licked their own lips, savoring the last taste of the other's mouth.

"Was…was that better than…Mikado's?" Akane asked, trying to ease the tension between them.

Ranma chuckled at her question, giving Akane a short moment of panic. Was he really going to mock her? Mock her –_their_ first kiss?

When Ranma's eyes met hers again, however, she knew he was doing everything _but_ mocking her.

"Mikado-who?" he asked, before kissing her again, more fervently than the first time but less fervently than every time afterward.

* * *

**A/N:** Holy moley! Sorry about the wait! I have returned to school and the homework was kicking my butt. Anyway, I know this was a much anticipated chapter, and I hope I delivered. I didn't want to overdo it, as we still have plenty of opportunities for RA to kiss, but at this point in the arc I thought I couldn't do more than what was done. Remember that these chapters don't necessarily link to each other (unless maybe if they belong to the same arc/episode), so other "first kiss" opportunities are certainly to come. Thank you to anyone and everyone who has read, reviewed, and/or subscribed! The next chapter is called: **P-Chan Explodes! The Icy Fountain of Love! **See you then!


	5. P-Chan Explodes! The Icy Fountain of Lov

**Situation:** Akane and Ranma are ready to fight again, but Akane knows he's been hurt pretty severely after he took the hit for both of them when being thrown away by the Goodbye World technique Mikado and Azusa tried to pull on them to split them up. Akane pokes Ranma in the chest to prove to him that he is in no condition to battle anymore. He slides down to the ice floor so that he is facing down. Akane slides down as well and grabs his hand in both of hers.

* * *

**Chapter 5: P-Chan Explodes! The Icy Fountain of Love!  
**

The _Goodbye Whirl_ technique Mikado and Azusa had tried on Ranma and Akane had been one for the books. No one before the couple from Furinkan had ever survived the technique without some sort of emotional or psychological scarring, or without effectively earning the attacking duo the victory of the match. While for previous couples enduring the pressure of having to choose between personal injury and personal safety had not been easy, for Ranma the answer had been a no-brainer. In his mind, there was no way in hell he would ever give up a fight, as his honor as a martial artist would not allow it; and, he was definitely _not_ going to let any danger befall his fiancée.

_"Akane is MY fiancée, got it? You touch her, and I'LL KILL YOU!"_

These words spoken by Ranma to Mikado still echoed in the minds of the betrothed couple, particularly due to the open admittance by Ranma of his relationship with Akane. Whether or not their fathers had set them up together before they were born, and whether or not the lovebirds took the matter seriously, Akane had never heard Ranma make such a bold, public statement regarding their otherwise forced relationship status. Akane knew she had to get over the initial shock of the declaration so she could focus on their battle, but she would lie to herself and the world if she dared to say that his proclamation had not stirred an amalgam of emotions within her fragile heart.

After the realization that Tofu and her could and would never be together, Akane had begrudgingly begun accepting that she had no choice but to look elsewhere for a man to share her life with. Ranma had crossed her mind as a potential option, but the constant arguments between them, and his constant denials of having any interest in making their arranged marriage work had scratched his name off from her list. That had never lasted long, though, simply because, before she knew it, Ranma would do a 180 on her, showing an amount of caring and protection over her she had never experienced from anyone else before.

Such present moment being a prime example, she admitted to herself.

The electricity in her body, which she had learned to expect any time he touched her so delicately with his rugged hands, made itself present when one of said hands grabbed a hold of one of her small ones. Without looking back at her, he held her tightly, readying himself for the next round.

"Come on, Akane!"

If she had been anyone else, anyone who was not able to read his every move without even attempting to, she would have easily bought his façade of unbreakable and unending strength. However, she had been there inside the same twister of despair with him; she knew that the only reason she was without a scratch was because he took the hit for the both of them.

"Wait a sec!"

Akane bent slightly forward as her eyes scanned his body, searching for the exact location she knew had received the most damage when he hit the concrete wall. Once she found it, she poked it with her index finger without much force, but it still caused the same result she had been expecting from it. As she watched his battered body slide down until his face was buried against the cold ice beneath, the same emotions that had hit her when he stated his claim over her just moments ago, came back to sweep her off her feet with a vengeance.

"What'd you do that for, Akane?" he complained as he felt cheated for being found out sooner than he had thought.

Akane crouched down to his level, still holding on to the hand he had not let go.

"Don't do this. Not for me."

"Uh?" he said with a look of disbelief that made him even more adorable to her.

"Really, it's not necessary," she continued as she attempted to make him come to his senses. It was just a stupid battle, and while she wanted her P-chan returned to her safe and sound, it was not worth putting Ranma through so much pain. She knew he was much stronger than a normal kid his age would be, but the feeling of guilt that overcame her was greater than any other emotion she currently felt.

"I can find another way to get him back; this…is not worth it, Ranma."

Ranma's confused look changed to a look of incredulity. He struggled as he pulled his feet back under him and crouched in front of Akane.

"You're joking, right? Do you really think I'm doing this for that pig?"

"Well…I…"

"Seriously, Akane. Don't you think I _know_ we can just barge into that couple and take Ryo –P chan, back?"

Akane looked away to stare at the opposing couple fighting with each other as they normally did. Even though they had not been able to defeat them just yet, it was not for lack of trying. Then again, if Mikado and Azusa had not been on the ice, Ranma and Akane would have had all the advantage in the world. "Then…why?"

Ranma slowly stood up, ignoring the pain traveling through his bones. Akane stood up with him, as they were yet to let go of the other's hand. "Look, Akane, we…us…do you really not know why or for whom I'm doing this?"

Akane tried to look away again, but his eyes were burning holes in hers. She knew what he meant, and she could only hope his lips were as tingly as hers as she remembered their moment at the dojo just a few days ago. They had not spoken about it afterwards, but she could feel something between them had changed because of it. She knew they were no longer two kids thrown together by fate. They were now two people seriously considering taking their relationship to the next step.

"I do know, but…does it have to be this hard? Is it worth the pain you feel right now?"

Ranma immediately knew she was not asking just about their current obstacle with the ice-dancing couple, but their pending conversation regarding the kiss they had shared. They had both silently admitted much more than they would have wanted with that simple gesture, but neither of them wanted to take the first step to verbally confessing the kiss had been more than just the result of a dare.

"You're thinking too much about it, Akane. We have'em were we want'em; let's finish them already, so we can go home." He finally responded, clearly avoiding the awkward conversation he was not yet ready to have just because he was not ready to tell her how he felt. Akane felt silly to desperately want the conversation to happen now, when it was not the time or the place. She could not help herself, though; she needed to talk to him, ask him what he truly thought about her. She did not want to jump to conclusions and open her heart to another man who could potentially end up breaking it apart, too. It did not mean, however, that he had not already found his way into her heart with his simple touch.

"You're right, Ranma. We've been playing around for too long. It's time to get serious."

"And serious we will get," he said with a hint of promise that went unseen when water followed by a blanket covered their vision for a moment too long.

xxxXXXxxx

The winners of the tournament walked back home in silence. Ranma had claimed his spot on the fence, while Akane walked next to him on the sidewalk. After the competition was over with and Ranma and Ryouga had found out about her secret, Akane had woken up to be told she had been saved by the two men. P-chan had disappeared shortly after he had been saved from a life as Charlotte, and while Akane had been saddened by this fact, she was also grateful to have some alone time with the pigtailed boy.

Ranma rested his hands behind his neck as he walked without trouble on the thin fence, staring down at his fiancée from the corner of his eye. She seemed very pensive and lost in her thoughts, and he wondered if she was thinking about what he had been thinking about all day long.

"So, when were you planning on telling me you can't swim?"

Hearing his voice broke her trance, forcing her to look up to him, staring at him for a brief second before sighing in annoyance at his question.

"Didn't think it was important. Besides, it's not such a big deal, you know. Not knowing how to swim doesn't make me less of a martial artist than you."

Ranma scoffed, jumping from the fence and stopping in front of her to prevent her from running away from him as she always did when confronted with a weakness in her. Here he was, wondering about how she had gone her entire life without knowing how to swim, and gathering information from her to determine the level at which he had to be around in case she needed him, and all she could think of was that he was belittling her inability to save own her life from drowning.

"As if! I can't believe you don't know how to swim and don't care. Akane, we live on a freaking island! What will you do if a tsunami hit us or something?"

"I will use my other abilities and jump to the highest building I can find."

"That's bullshit, and you know it. You're acting as if a tsunami would announce itself. What if you, I don't know, trip or something, inside a lake. How will you get your butt out of that?"

Akane's frown disappeared, turning into a wide grin. She leaned forward to him, poking his cheek with her index finger. "Oh, my! Could it be that Ranma Saotome is worried about his fiancée leaving him a widower because she'd drown on him?"

"W-what?"

Akane giggled, amused at how easily the words escaped him when it was hinted that he actually felt something for her. She took a step back before moving to the side, walking around the still stunned pigtailed boy. It took him a few seconds and a couple of blinks, but once he recovered his senses he ran toward her, standing in front of her again.

"What was that now? You think you have me all figured out, don't you?"

"Well, don't I? Aren't you worried that I might die from something as stupid as water?"

"Aren't you?"

Akane shook her head, the smile never leaving her face. She had given up trying to learn how to swim a long time ago, before Ranma's time, and while resigning herself to failure was not becoming of a martial artist, she knew when to give up trying to achieve a dream that would never be hers.

"Not at all. Because I know you wouldn't let that happen to me,_ right_?" she teased him, wondering how much she could push him into accepting that he was worried, to some level, about her being vulnerable to the elements. When his annoyed face gave way to a worried one, her façade disappeared with his. He took a step closer to her, towering over her suddenly defenseless presence. He delimited the curve of her left cheek with the back of his index finger, following an upward and downward path a couple of times at the same time his eyes took in the glow of her face.

Akane swallowed hard, suddenly unable to speak, even if it were just to insult him. Once his finger finished its final trek at the bottom of her face, he looked down to her eyes, staring deeply into them as he spoke again.

"No, I wouldn't."

Akane opened her mouth to speak, but not sound came out. It was not because she did not know what to say; in fact, she knew _exactly_ what to say. Yet, words were not their best friend during such situations between them, so she did the only thing she knew would not cause the moment to be ruined: she gave him a small grateful smile before her arms found his waist, slowly surrounding him and pressing the right side of her face to his chest, feeling the quick pulse of his heart. Ranma responded by surrounding her figure with his arms, resting his chin on her head and closing his eyes.

They remained in the same position for quite some time, not daring to break the silence by uttering any unnecessary words. Words were not needed between them anyway, as they were usually uttered out of anger or jealousy. For now, all they needed to know was that their other half was present; the other half neither of them were looking for, but had somehow found.

* * *

**A/N:** Not a very eventful chapter, I must admit, but I think after a kiss the awkwardness and confusion would prevail over any serious declaration of love between them. Hope you liked it, anyway Next chapter: Shampoo's Revenge! The Shiatsu Technique That Steals Heart and Soul.


	6. Shampoo's Revenge! The Shiatsu Technique

**A/N: New arc for you! Remember, the chapters are not related to any future or previous chapters unless otherwise specified. This is a new arc, so nothing before this chapter applies to it.**

**Situation:** Ranma and Akane are walking back home from school after Shampoo's technique caused Akane to forget all about Ranma. He's on the fence walking behind her, and she is walking on the sidewalk. Akane is annoyed that the "stranger" is following her.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Shampoo's Revenge! The Shiatsu Technique That Steals Heart and Soul**

Akane eyed the young stranger walking closely behind her on her way back home. She swallowed hard to push back her nervousness as she wondered the true intentions of the attractive –yet unknown, man that had been following her since school. She had hoped he would have taken a hike by now, after several demands from her to make himself disappear from her presence. He had ignored her, however, and instead had stuck around every second of her day so far, insisting that they knew each other, and that it was not funny for her to pretend to not know him at all.

The blue-haired girl increased her pace, hoping that the pigtailed boy would take the hint. When he too increased his speed to keep up with her, she had finally had enough of him.

"Get lost! Leave me alone!" She demanded of him, emphasizing her point by turning around and glaring him from her vantage point on the ground, pumping her fist in front of her face. She did not like resorting to violence all the time, but she felt confident enough to use brute force against him if the annoying boy did not turn around and leave.

The boy seemed to be taken aback by her order, stopping his trek on the fence for only a second before jumping down to face her. For some unknown reason to her, her heart began racing when he took another step closer to her, staring at her with the most hurt look she had seen on anyone's face in her entire life.

"You really have forgotten all about me, haven't you?"

Akane stared at the boy's blue-gray eyes, trying to read them into finding out what he really wanted from her. She truly could not recall ever meeting the boy before, yet the hurtful look on his face made her want to please him somehow. Maybe she should lie to him, tell him she was just joking, if only to rid his face from the look he was giving her. Then again, would it not be more hurtful in the long run to pretend she knew him when she actually did not?

When he took another step towards her, she took a step back. The apparently intimidating gesture made her forget any pity she may have stored for him just seconds ago. She narrowed her eyes at him as she spoke again.

"Forgot what?"

"Me, that's what!"

Ranma closed his eyes, exhaling deeply in exasperation. How long did she plan on playing him like this? He had sincerely considered ignoring her silly game, but he had been unable to do so when he saw that she looked genuinely confused with his presence. What if she was not just joking in revenge for Shampoo's presence? What if Shampoo had done something to her during their match?

_"She did seem pretty upset when she first found out about Shampoo. Does she really think I like Shampoo more than her?"_

Ranma shook his head, mentally debating whether or not an apology would solve whatever he had inadvertently done to Akane to anger her. Even though he had not been in Akane's life for its entirety, he wanted to think that he knew her better than what seemed possible for the short amount of time they had been together. He wanted to believe that Akane would not try to pull such a stupid prank on him, and that if she did, she would have not taken it this far.

His internal discussion did not get much farther when Akane regained physical closeness to him by taking a couple of steps and stood on her tiptoes so that her face was close to his. While she had been closer to him than this on several occasions up to now, the fact that Akane was closing the boundaries of personal space with a stranger made him somewhat nervous of what she was about to do.

"And _who_ are _you_?"

"I'm…I'm…Ranma." The pigtailed boy answered, not sure what good it would do to repeat his name to her.

Akane rolled her eyes. "I know your name since you've said so many times already. But, why should I know you? Are you supposed to be important to me or what?"

"I want to think so," he said, inching closer to her face. He stared at her eyes as he witnessed her attempt at finding him somewhere while digging into her memories. She unconsciously shook her head slightly, making Ranma feel as if he was running out of options to make her come to her senses.

"Akane, what can I do for you to remember me? After everything we've been through, how could you so easily forget about us?"

Akane furrowed her brows, for the first time feeling as if she owed the boy something. She was not certain what he had meant by using the word _us_, but something told her she was about to find out why the boy was so adamant in making her remember him.

"Us? _What_ us?"

Ranma's hand found hers and he held on to it with enough force to somehow show her his desperation in the situation, but not strongly enough to make her feel any pain. Akane's first instinct was to try and tug away her hand from his grip, but the sudden appearance of butterflies in her stomach made her brain and limbs disconnect communication between them.

"Us, _you and me_, us. Did you really want to forget about me that badly?"

Akane shrugged, trying to focus her eyes onto something else other than his eyes. She did not know why his presence was starting to make her feel uneasy, but perhaps telling her what was in her mind would help him move on and accept she did not know him at all.

"Maybe I was meant to forget you. Maybe you should forget about me, too?"

Ranma wildly shook his head, raising his voice at her at the preposterous request. "Never! I don't accept that, and neither should you!"

Akane did not appreciate his sudden rude tone, but she dismissed it in favor of setting things straight with the stubborn boy. "Why shouldn't I?"

"Because you're my GIRLFRIEND, that's why!"

Akane was momentarily at a loss for words. She waited for him to retract his words, but when he did not, she scratched her head.

"You're…" she began as she pointed at his chest before alternating her finger pointing between the two of them. "We're…"

When Ranma nodded, Akane took a small step back to stare at him up and down. She then titled her head to the side and gave him an incredulous look as she spoke again with a disappointed tone.

"Really?"

Ranma face-faulted, feeling incredibly insulted by her obvious show that she was not thrilled to be dating him. Once he recovered his footing, he grabbed Akane by her shoulders, attempting to clear the second-rate image she seemed to have of him while trying to feed his hurt ego at the same time with better thoughts.

"I know I'm not the best boyfriend to you sometimes, but, have you had enough of me to forget me, just like that? Is that what this is about? Or are you just surprised that a hunk like me would date someone like you?"

"Not at all...I just, _imagined_ that if I had a boyfriend, I could do better than you."

"W-what? Akane, you're not serious, are you? Who could possibly be better for you than me?"

"Well," Akane began her taunting of him, "I know this cute guy…his name is Ryouga…"

"WHAT THE HELL? That… PIG?! You THINK he's BETTER THAN ME for YOU!"

"You know him?"

Ranma's cracked his knuckles by opening and closing his hands. From all the things Akane could have remembered, said or done to him, did she really have to bring up the lost boy?

"_Wait? Does she like Ryouga? Oh, hell no! Ryouga is not getting near her again, ever!"_

Seeing his current strategy was not working to his advantage, he decided to take a more humble approach with her. He shook his head to clear his thoughts of his Akane and Ryouga dating before grabbing both of her hands in his and leaning closer to her again.

"Akane, please…just…tell me what to do…I'll do it…I'll do anything, I just…"

"Kiss me."

"W-what?"

Ranma's eyes widened so much Akane thought they were going to pop out of their sockets. His great impression of a talking fish made her want to laugh at his shocked face, but she held back her chuckle and leaned even closer to him.

"You said you're my boyfriend, right? Why don't you kiss me?"

Ranma blinked several times and gulped. He could not believe she was asking him for such proof.

"I…you're not gonna hit me, right?"

Akane shook her head, somewhat wishing he would bite the bait so she could properly dispose of him. He pulled on his collar, visible uncomfortable with the request, making Akane feel even more confident of her triumph over the boy. Her victory was short-lived, however, when Ranma nodded and accepted her terms.

"Alright, I'll do it."

"W-what?" It was her turn to stutter.

"If that's what it takes for you to remember me, then I'll do it!"

"Ranma…I…"

But she was unable to continue, as Ranma lost no time and pressed his lips on hers. The kiss did not last long, and it was not passionate at all, but the tingling sensation that emanated in her from such contact with a boy made her lose her footing.

"Wow! Watch out, Akane!" he said as he held her by the waist to prevent her behind from landing on the ground. Akane felt her face turning red, and she was able to see a small blush on his as well.

"We…we don't do this much, do we?"

"Not enough," he conceded, alternating his eyes between staring at her and staring at the ground.

Akane forced her mind to clear itself as she pushed herself away from him, grabbed her school bag that had at some point ended on the ground, and looked in the direction of her house.

"I…I have to go…"

"Wait, Akane…do you…remember me?"

Akane shook her head, feeling guilty of playing with the boy's feelings, and feeling like an idiot by wasting her first kiss with a total stranger. When he did not say anything else, he also at a loss for words, she turned around and ran away from him. Ranma stood motionless where she had left him, touching his lips with the tips of his fingers.

_"Definitely like her better than Shampoo,"_ he mused as he began his trek towards the destination he knew she had headed to.

* * *

**A/N:** Hope you liked it! The next chapter is linked to this one, and it's called: **I Love You, Ranma! Please Don't Say Goodbye**. Can anyone guess which scene I'm writing about?


	7. I Love You, Ranma! Please Don't Say Good

**Situation: **After Ranma announces he is going to China to get a bottle for the memory recovery for Akane, he walks into Akane coming to the living room due to the commotion.

* * *

**Chapter 7: I Love You, Ranma! Please Don't Say Goodbye**

He tuned out the incessant chatter of the offhand-acting family members behind him. How typical of them to worry more about souvenirs and mementos from China than Akane's memory state. Then again, he could not entirely blame them; other than her lack of remembrance of him, she was healthy and alive, entitling the rest of the family to feeling no real threat against the younger Tendo girl. She remembered all of them: every single one except him. It was only natural that they did not have the same motivation as he to swim back to the Amazon's tribe and cure the memory of his fiancée.

He closed the door behind him and looked ahead only to find her standing right in front of him. She stared at him up and down, noting his backpack and preparations to leave Nerima as soon as possible. Her furrowed brows showed her confusion as to the reason why he was suddenly leaving town, and –more importantly, why he was so determined to get her to remember him.

_Why is this person trying so hard to help me?_

She remained on her spot even as he neared her, daring to hold her hands in his and bringing them close to his heart.

"Akane, someday soon, you'll remember me again, and I'll be waiting for you."

_I wish I could remember him._

When Akane did not reject his presence, and hearing the approaching unwanted bystanders, Ranma led Akane out of the home and onto the rooftop for a more private conversation. Akane's first instinct was to scream and attempt to free herself from him, but her first instinct had been instantly crushed by a strange feeling inside her. Ranma stole a quick glance to the ground down below, making sure they were not being followed.

The silence between them pained him but also pushed him to do whatever it took to bring back her memories of him. If a kiss had not brought back any good memories of them, then he had no idea what else to do.

"Ranma?"

Her tiny voice broke his concentration of the mental path he was carving to get to China, and for a second he thought she had remembered him. Yet, when he looked down at her, he noticed how her face denoted how hard she wanted to remember him.

"You don't have to do this. China is a long way from here…it could be dangerous."

Ranma shook his head at her. "I hafta, Akane. I can't let Shampoo get away with this."

"But, there must be another way for me to remember you. I…I _want_ to remember you, at least I think I do."

"There isn't, and I don't think I want to wait and hope you someday do."

"But…I don't want you to go."

"Akane, I…I have to. I'll wait for you, I already told you. Will you wait for me?"

"Waiting for me for what?"

"I...we…"

"We?"

Ranma stared into space, knowing that bringing up the fiancée issue was only going to upset her again. He doubted another kiss would do him any good, and standing here with her was a waste of time as long as he did not have the cure with him.

"Look, Akane. I told you we're engaged, right? You're my girlfriend, even if you don't remember it. If I lost my memory of you, wouldn't you want me to remember you?"

"I guess, yes."

"OK, so I have to go to China for this to happen. Do you understand?"

"Ranma…are you really going to China just for me?"

Ranma nodded to her, his reassurance making her feel even guiltier for not remembering him. Feeling a rare impulse inside, she leaned forward to place a kiss on his cheek, ending it as soon as it had begun.

"Come back soon, please."

Ranma nodded once more, not trusting his voice not to show his surprise at her kiss. He heard the family members approaching them, so he picked her up once more and safely brought her down to the ground. Without another word, he jumped onto the fence of the estate and made a run for it.

xxxXXXxxx

An hour later, he found himself in the outskirts of Nerima, heading to the path that would lead him to the ocean. He could have made his way to the beach much faster with a run, but he knew he needed to save his energy for the swim. He had no idea how long it would take him to get to China, and doing so alone was not the best case scenario. When he and his dad had done so, they had the other to keep watch, or to keep the other awake. This time, it was just him and no one else.

He stopped at the junction of Nerima and the road to the sea, swallowing hard at the sudden thought of him not being able to make it back alive. What if he died in the sea? What if he was not able to get to China? What if the Amazons refused to give him the shampoo he needed?

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the faint call of his name. He almost brushed it off as a figment of his imagination, but the second time he heard it, it made him turn around and search for the source.

At a distance, a blue-head he would recognize anywhere ran toward him. She was visibly exhausted, but her legs kept running, pushing herself to make it to him. She was waving at him, calling his name, and asking him to stop. His own legs came to life when his brain put the pieces together, and with a resolve he thought he had just lost he met her halfway.

"Ranma, please, stop!" she said before collapsing into his willing arms. She took in deep breaths and tried blinking away the spots that clouded her vision. Her legs were wobbly, leaving her with no option but to holding onto him for dear life.

"Akane, what's the matter?"

"Ranma, don't go…I…I remember…_everything_…" she said between breaths.

Ranma frowned, staring at her for a sign of deceit. Maybe she did not want him to swim to China so she was lying to him. Maybe she had been faking the entire time, or maybe, just maybe, a miracle had occurred while he was gone.

He dropped his backpack on the ground, swiftly opening it and taking out a canteen filled with fresh water. He handed it to her, and she swallowed its contents with big gulps. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, thanking him for the gesture. She then rested her hands on his chest, still inhaling deeply to regain her composure, but his confused expression told her she needed to talk to him, now.

"Ranma, Shampoo…she came back…she…we took the shampoo from her…"

"What? She went looking for you? Did she hurt you?" he asked, suddenly his eyes looking at her up and down for signs of a struggle. If Shampoo had dared to lay a finger on her…

Akane shook her head vigorously. "No, no, she didn't. She was looking for you. Nabiki suggested…she suggested I pretended I remember you. One thing led to another, and after the intervention of Dr. Tofu and his pressure points…we…he…stopped her…"

Akane's explanation was not very detailed, but Ranma was astute enough to place the pieces of the puzzle together. Shampoo must have gotten cocky seeing he was not around, and had been outsmarted by the doctor and Nabiki. At no point before today had Ranma been so glad to have a manipulative bitch as a future sister-in-law.

"So, you _do_ remember me? Are you telling me the truth?

"Yes, you jerk! This baka tomboy remembers you," she said, smiling as she did, attempting to prove to him that she did recall his presence in her life. The smile on his face did not wait to appear, and he almost leaned down and kissed her again.

Almost.

"Well, that's one trip you saved me, Akane."

Akane gave him a warm smile before throwing herself at him, surrounding him with a tight embrace. Ranma chuckled at her action, returning the embrace as fervently as she did. Moments like these were rare between them, but he had learned to accept them and enjoy them when they did transpire.

"Thank you, Ranma. Thank you for trying."

"Why wouldn't I? I can't lose my ticket to easy homework, neh?"

Any other day, Akane would have received the comment with little humor. Today, however, she was just happy that things were back to normal between them. She would not admit it to him just yet, but the hope that Ranma was as invested in exploring whatever relationship they had had been renewed today. She did remember everything –_everything_, including their kiss.

"So, when was the last time you've been to the beach, Akane?"

She looked up at him, wondering for a brief moment what the hell he was talking about. When she realized he had no intention in returning home just yet, she smiled at him, having never been happier to not be at home.

"Long enough ago to have forgotten what it looks like."

Ranma returned her smile, silently thanking her for accepting his hidden invitation without much fuss. He stared back in the direction of the beach as if again charting their path to their new destination before returning his attention back to her. He grabbed her hand in his, intertwining their fingers and picking up his backpack. She quietly followed him, reveling in his company and looking forward to enjoying their slow trek to the shores of Japan.

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**A/N:** FLUFF! Remember that this story relies on OCCnees to make it work, because we all know how stubborn these two can be. The next chapter's title is: _This Ol' Gal's the Leader of the Amazon Tribe!_ Can anyone guess what the situation for the next chapter will be? BTW, soooooo sorry about the long delay! I have been working on two other stories that are active right now, and the other Ranma story I posted a few days ago (PROM). So, between those and life, I'd pushed back posting this. I've decided to update each story separately, and not update either one unless I have already updated the other two. So, I will now work on a chapter for the next fic (30 Days - Iron Man franchise), then for the second fic (Man in a Can - Iron Man franchise), and then will come back to this one again. Thank you soooo much for your patience :D


	8. This Ol' Gal's the Leader of the Amazon

**Situation:** Ranma walks into the dojo after being beat up by Ryouga, Sasuke and Kuno because he "kissed" Akane while under the influence of the Cat-Fu.

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**Chapter 8: This Ol' Gal's the Leader of the Amazon Tribe!**

Her concentration was broken when she heard the almost inaudible creak of the dojo floor, her head snapping up to find the fabricator of it before she could help herself.

"Uhm…" she mumbled, unable to find the appropriate words.

"Oh..yo-o!" he said with a small wave of two fingers of his right hand.

"R-Ranma?" she said as she turned away from him, feeling the flush forming in her face. She exhaled to calm herself and headed to the end of the dojo. She knew she would have to face him at some point, but this awareness did not make the situation any easier on her.

He wordlessly followed her, wiping his sweaty palms on his pants. At least she had not punched him, yet. She sat on the floor, resting her back on the wall. She hugged her legs close to her chest, and Ranma mimicked her stance sans the leg hugging. He stared at her from the corner of his eyes, swallowing the lump in his throat and forgetting the words he had rehearsed on his way to meeting up with her.

"I'm…uhm…sorry," he finally mumbled, his feet fidgeting with every word.

Akane stared to her right to face him, taking advantage of his eyes staring into space. "You mean, you remember?"

"Well, n-not really. I never remember when I'm like that, you know, when…when I'm a cat."

"Oh, I see…, it c-coulda been anyone. Is that…what you mean?"

It was now Ranma's turn to face her since she was the one looking away this time. "Uh? Eh…What do –what do you mean it coulda been anyone?"

"It's true, though!"

"_Oh, man!_ Do you _really_ think I'm that kinda guy!?" he spat back at her, suddenly forgetting about his embarrassment and leaning closer to her face.

"If you're _not_ that kinda guy, what'd you kiss me for then?"

"Well, I…I've…"

"Well?" she pushed him, narrowing her eyes at him

Ranma sighed, scratching the side of his head. He pulled away from her face, resting his back against the wall once more. "Look, Akane. I don't really what I do when I'm under that shitty spell, but I can tell you I've never done anything like that before. I don't plan on making it a habit either."

Akane's anger deflated at his words, trying to understand what it would feel like to lose control of her own self and wander the streets doing things she is not supposed to be involved with. When she failed to respond to him, he took it as a sign that she was still upset, making him stand up and begin his trek back home, speaking to her as he walked away.

"Anyway, I just wanted to apologize. I can only imagine how embarrassing it musta been for you. It won't happen again."

And embarrassing it had been, but for all the wrong reasons. She swallowed hard, feeling that the moment he stepped out of the dojo she would regret how their conversation ended so she ran after him, placing a hand on his shoulder to make him stop. "Ranma?"

"Yeah?" he asked her, slightly turning his head to look over his shoulder.

"It…it was…embarrassing…it's just…I never thought my first kiss would be in front of the entire school."

Ranma exhaled hard, closing his eyes and feeling worse than he had when he had walked in. Of course he would ruin the girl's first kiss ever! Why would it be any different? Screwing up lives is what he did, albeit involuntary, mind you. He rubbed his eyes to calm the sudden itch that came to them before he turned around to face her, staring at how downcast she looked. Her head hung low and her shoulders were slumped, and he knew she was trying her best not to cry in front of him.

He scratched the back of his head and sighed. His job of making it up to her was not yet accomplished; he just had to make it right. "It's OK, Akane. If it makes you feel better, I never thought our first kiss would be in front of the entire school, either."

Akane's reaction was to stare at him, eyes wide and mouth hung. He narrowed his eyes at her, wondering why the heck she was so surprised. It took him a moment to restate his words in his mind, and when he did, his expression mirrored hers.

"Shit! Akane, I…I-I…that's not what…damn, uhm…well…you see…"

His nervous pose did wonders for her shyness, feeling at ease that he also felt uncomfortable with the situation. She graced him with a smile and a shake of her head. "It's alright, Ranma. I know what you meant."

"Really?" he questioned, wondering if she really understood that a kiss between them would not be the end of the world for him or if she was just getting ready to knock his lights out. "Are you…sure? You don't think I'm some kinda perv, right?"

"Not more than usual."

"Gee, thanks."

She giggled, placing her right hand on his shoulders and patting it twice. "It's OK, Ranma. I understand, I think. Just, you know, can you be careful who you kiss next time…or at least pick a better place to do so?"

"I…uhm…" he began, feeling the blush reach his face. She was not condoning his behavior, but she was not flat out rejecting the possibility of them kissing at some point in the future. "I'll try."

"Anyway, I still need to blow off some steam. I'll talk to you later, OK?"

"OK." He agreed, giving her a wide smile and winking at her before he turned around again. When he heard her return to the middle of the dojo to start her katas all over again, he rested his left arm on the frame of the entrance door, readying himself to clarify one last point.

"Just so you know, it wouldn't have been just anyone, Akane. If it was gonna happen, it was gonna be you," he said before quickly disappearing, leaving her stunned, shaking and surprised, but, most of all, happy to know.

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**A/N**: YAY! One more! Next chapter's title is**: It's a Fine Line between Pleasure and Pain**. So far, I've been able to re-watch only 50 episodes, from which I have chosen 15 situations. I still have plenty of options, so please be patient. I appreciate your continued support even after the long hiatus, but rest assure I will finish this fic. I _always_ finish my fics :D


	9. It's a Fine Line between Pleasure and Pa

**Situation: **Akane is walking back home after seeing the picture of Ranma and Kodachi.

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**Chapter 9: It's a Fine Line between Pleasure and Pain**

The streets of Nerima were deserted, save for the visibly upset girl walking on the street. Even though her pace was slow, the speed of her thoughts was a mile a second; recapping the moment her eyes had seen the evidence that Ranma was not interested in her. She could not decide what was more terrible to her: the fact that Kodachi and Ranma had shared an intimate moment in her absence, or the fact that the idiot had not even bothered to fake interest in her food.

_You dummy, Ranma! What did I even bother? Maybe I'm not the world's greatest cook but you didn't even give me a chance! I worked really hard on those, too! You dummy!_

She closed her eyes to allow the tears to fall down her cheeks.

"Hey, Akane! I wanna show you something," came the voice behind her. She did not bother to turn around immediately, allowing herself to dry her face. How dare he come to her as if nothing had happened? Was there no end to his tactlessness?

"What?!" she finally retorted, turning around and looking up to him as he stood on the fence. He gave her a knowing smirk; he could smell her tears from miles away.

He jumped down the fence, daring to take a few steps closer to her and keeping his right hand behind his back and using his left to hand her a negative.

"Well, take a look!" he encouraged her. Akane grabbed the negative from his hands and held up to the dying rays of the sun, not sure what she was looking at.

"As you can see, it was all a misunderstanding…more like an accident. So that means you can stop being jealous now, OK?"

Akane scoffed, bringing down the negative and almost crushing it with her hands. "Jealous? Who's jealous? Of you? You gotta be kidding?"

Her eyes filled with anger at being caught in a lie was a sight to him. It was about time the girl showed signs of caring for him; he had feared he was the only one invested in this relationship.

"Then, why are you so mad?" he asked, lowering his voice and leaning forward to her. She felt his breath almost on her face, so she looked down to avoid his scrutinizing eyes.

"I could care less."

Ranma made a sound of disdain. Why did she have to make it so difficult for him? Wasn't it obvious Kodachi was nothing more than a runway lunatic to him?

"Well, can I finish these off now?"

"Finish what off?"

"Why, your cookies, of course!"

"Uh?" she questioned, looking up and realizing he still had the plate in his hands. He gave her one of his handsome smiles as he began throwing the misshaped cookies inside his mouth.

"I'll help myself. Wow, that's pretty good!" he said, snapping his fingers to emphasize his point. "Mmh…Yeah, Kinda spicy! I like it! This one's good too, yeah, kinda…different flavor…mmmmhhh, yeah...!"

Akane's smile could have not been any bigger. She watched in awe as he ate every single of her cookies, licking his fingers when he was done. The girl had no idea so much happiness could come from such a simple gesture.

"Ranma…_thank you_…did-did you really like them?"

"Yeah! I ate them all, didn't I?" he asked, flipping over the plate to show there were no more cookies left. "Now, will you please believe me that Kodachi means nothing to me? I only ate her stinkin' cookies because she threatened to use that picture against me."

Her first instinct was to spat back at him that she was not jealous, but something inside her told her that if he was willing to make a sacrifice by eating her cooking, she could make one, too.

"I'm sorry. I guess I should've known."

"Nothing to it. As long as you don't got the wrong idea about her, I'll live."

Akane smiled at him, accepting the truce, before reaching over to grab his hand. "Come Ranma, I have a stew I made just for you back at home."

Ranma swallowed hard, the idea of eating more poisonous food not sitting well with him, but if it made her smile as she just had, he would put up with it again. He allowed her to guide him back home, never once letting go of the soft grip of her hand.

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**A/N:** Oh! BTW, due to life, updates will become slower, as in once a week. Please be patient!


	10. SOS! The Wrath of the Happosai

**Situation: **Ranma has been kicked out of the home because he won't apologize to Happosai. He is sitting outside at the park, with a small fire in front of him to try and keep him from the cold.

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**Chapter 10: S.O.S.! The Wrath of the Happosai**

"_Perhaps it's best if you lay low for a while, son,"_ Soun Tendo had told him, clearly watching out for himself rather than the rest of the family. Naturally, Ranma's father had followed it up with a consolatory sign which read: _"Only for 2-3 days,"_ to which Kasumi had added how bad she felt about leaving Ranma out in the cold.

The middle Tendo sister had jumped in to making fun of his misery by suggesting he took his removal from the home as a vacation. Ranma scoffed at the idea of how anyone who was kicked out of their home could see living on the streets as a vacation of any kind.

"Hmpf! He throws a fit and I am out in the cold!" he said, shivering almost out of control. "_Really_ cold," he added, wondering why the hell he had not brought better clothing with him.

His thoughts were interrupted by the thump of footsteps pressing down on freezing grass, forcing him to look up to see his fiancée's face wrapped up in a scarf, her body surrounded by a thick coat, and her hands sporting a pair of thick gloves that could have passed for oven mitts due to their size. His attention to her hands lead to him realizing she was holding a rather large paper bag in one hand, and a thermos in the other.

"Oh! Hey, Akane!"

"Thought you might be hungry," she mumbled behind the cloth on her mouth, walking closer to Ranma and kneeling down in front of him. The cold concrete ground made her knees shiver, reminding her that she had been stupid enough to wear a skirt to go out on a cold night such as this.

Her feelings of discomfort, however, would disappear once she returned home, while Ranma's would continue until the issue with Happosai and his spoiled attitude came to an end.

She placed the bag and thermos on the ground, quickly reaching inside and taking out a couple of rice balls. A blink of an eye was all it took for him to accept her offerings, knowing by the look of the rice that it had been Kasumi who had cooked the food.

As Akane watched him eat like a man who had just come out of the wilderness, she reached down inside the bag and took out a small plastic cup. She then struggled to tilt the thermos to pour the tea inside the cup, almost dropping the entire liquid on herself due to the challenge the large gloves presented.

"Here," she said, passing on to him the cup of freshly brewed hot tea.

"Great! Thanks a lot!" Ranma said, munching on his second ball of rice and washing it down with the tea Akane had just poured for him. Akane waited for him to look partially satisfied before handing him another rice ball and speaking again.

"Don't you think you're…" she said, still sounding muffled behind the scarf on her face. Ranma held the ball of rice in his mouth before using his hands to pull lightly on the cloth so he could hear her better. The closeness that had been required to accomplish his task, added with the fact that he was now adjusting her scarf so that it still provided her protection from the wind chill but allowed her voice to be heard without interruption made her look away from his concentrated look.

Once he was satisfied with his job, he took the ball of rice with his right hand and swallowed it all at once, lightly punching his chest to force down the delicious food so he could speak again. He was yet to pull away from her, and she did not seem willing to pull away from him either. He could not blame her, though; the wind was picking up.

"What were you saying, Akane?"

"I-I…I said, I meant, why don't you just get it over with?" she asked, trying her best to cover the nervousness his proximity caused her.

Ranma knitted his brows at her suggestion; almost finding it offending that she asked him to give up so easily. "No way! I'd rather take my chances and stay out here and freeze to death than to give that little freak of nature what he wants."

"But, Ranma, you can't just live here forever!"

"I know that, 'kane! But I also know I'm not wrong. I'm _not _apologizing to that letch. 'sides, I think I've come up with a way to fix that freak's red wagon for good."

"You mean you got a plan?"

"Well, yeah, but I don't think I can pull it off without you, Akane," he said before leaning forward and whispering the plan to her. She knew not even Happosai would be out in this cold, so there was really no need for him to be so secretive. She did not mind the gesture, at all, but she was still coming to terms with the fact that she felt really comfortable around this boy.

Once he finished relaying his plan to her, he pulled back. His attention moved to the thermos and paper bag. "So, what do you think? Can you help me?" he asked her, rolling up the bag and putting it aside before pouring himself another cup of tea.

"I don't see why not," she responded. "It sounds like it could work."

"Of course it will; I came up with it. Jeez, Akane, do ya have no faith in me?"

"Idiot; of course I do, but you know how the Master gets. I just don't want you to end up worse than you are right now, that's all."

Ranma finished drinking his tea before tilting his head to the side and smirking at her. "Are you worried about me, Akane?"

The blush on her cheeks was immediate and inevitable. She dug her face inside her scarf as much as she could before looking away from him. "I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to," he said, a smug tone in his voice.

"Ugh, you're impossible! Here I am, being nice to you and walking out in this cold for you, and you make fun of me! That's it! I'm out of here!" she said, standing up. Ranma stood up after her, pulling lightly on her arm to prevent her from walking away.

"Hey, whoa, chill, Akane. It was just a stupid joke."

"Oh, yeah? Well, let me laugh it out on my way home!" she said, trying to pull away from him. She did not mind dealing with uncaring, self-centered Ranma, to that side of him she was used to. But when they were alone and he acted more like a fiancée than a brat, she was yet to learn how to handle herself around him.

"Don't be like that, Akane. I wanna go home, too. You think I'm happy knowing he's back there around you all day, maybe trying to pull some shit on you, and I'm not there to protect you?"

"I…I guess not," she conceded, relaxing her shoulders and turning around to face him once more. "Here," she said, trying to unbutton her coat but failing miserably due to the gloves. She used her teeth to pull one off, and then pulled the other, revealing she was actually wearing two pairs. She handed him one pair and he gladly accepted them.

"Wait, there's more," she continued as she held her own gloves in her teeth and began undoing the buttons of her coat. Once she finally pulled it off, Ranma noticed she was wearing one underneath, and the one she had taken off actually belonged to him.

"And, one more thing," she said, handing him the coat and unbuttoning her own to take out a scarf she had placed in the inside pocket. "Here, that's all I could sneak out without the Master noticing."

Ranma held the coat, scarf and gloves in his hands, alternating between staring at the garments and then at Akane. He gave her a grateful smile before noticing the lack of double layers was making her shiver already.

He bundled all items together and placed them atop his backpack. He then turned around and walked closer to his fiancée, pulling her closer to him by grabbing onto the lapels of her coat.

"Hold up, let's wrap you up again," he said, taking the gloves from her with his own teeth while she still held them with hers, much to her shock. He adjusted the scarf and buttoned her up again. He then pulled the gloves from his mouth and covered her hands with them. Once he was satisfied with his work, his hands moved to her face once more, adjusting the scarf so that the bottom half of her face was covered from the cold, just as it had been when she had arrived.

"There you go; safe for the way back."

"Thank you, Ranma."

"Thank you, Akane. Now, go back home, or you'll get sick."

"Be careful, please."

"I will," he reassured her before giving her gloved hands a squeeze and seeing her off. The smile on his face could not be removed even during his sleep.

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**A/N:** Thanks for your patience! See you next weekend!


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